Newsmaker

February 18, 2007

Vice. Adm. Rodney P. Rempt

Occupation

Naval Academy superintendent

In the news

In a memo to Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter, Rempt recommended last week the expulsion of Lamar S. Owens Jr., a former standout quarterback who was acquitted in July of raping a female classmate but found guilty on two lesser charges.

Career highlights

After his 1966 graduation from the academy, Rempt served aboard several ships before commanding the USS Callaghan, a destroyer, and the USS Bunker Hill, a cruiser. He later held several jobs in developing naval ballistic missile defense and became the director of surface warfare, He served two years as president of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., before coming to Annapolis, where his tenure has been marked by his efforts to reduce sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse among midshipmen.

Personal

Raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys, Rempt earned master's degrees in systems analysis from Stanford University and in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He is married with no children. He was known to ride around the Pentagon on a foot-powered scooter, and at the academy has zipped across campus on a golf cart.

Philosophy

Rempt, who declined to be interviewed as a Newsmaker because the Owens case is continuing, said upon his nomination to superintendent: "The Naval Academy exists to develop combat leaders who can motivate their shipmates and troops to do more than they think they can -- and persevere in the midst of the chaos of combat. To have the opportunity to help mold the development of young men and women into motivated officers is the chance of a lifetime."